Global Partners Start Making Good on Their Promise to Fight Neglected Tropical Diseases

Today, a diverse group of global partners announced that they have made measurable progress over the past year toward achieving the goal of controlling or eliminating 10 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2020.

In 2012, the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies donated more than 1 billion NTD treatments to meet 100 percent of drug requests by endemic countries. This commitment removed a key bottleneck to effective efforts to reduce the burden of several diseases that sicken, disable, and disfigure more than one billion people in the world’s poorest communities.

More than 40 countries also delivered detailed plans to achieve NTD control in the next decade. These successes are documented in a new report, From Promises to Progress, which was released in advance of the first anniversary of the London Declaration, an event that brought public and private sector partners together to make commitments aimed at dramatically reducing the incidence of diseases caused by parasites that have historically received little attention or funding from donors.

To coordinate efforts and monitor progress, partners have developed a scorecard to track pledges made toward NTD control. The London Declaration Scorecard captures progress made and where more effort is needed to reach the 2020 goals. The scorecard also sets benchmarks for success in 2013 and beyond that will help put the world on a steady trajectory toward achieving NTD control.

Also today, the World Health Organization released its second NTD report, which highlights the path to achieving the 2020 goals, identifies challenges, and proposes plans to address each disease. Together, these reports offer a clear path forward for the NTD community.

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"Our desire to bring every good thing to our children is a force for good throughout the world. It’s what propels societies forward." —Melinda Gates

The Global Fund has helped to deliver more than 190 million bed nets to protect families from malaria.

"The world faces a clear choice. If we invest relatively small amounts, many more poor farmers will be able to feed their families." —Bill Gates, 2012 Annual Letter

"When it come to global health, Bill and I are optimists—but we're impatient optimists. Tremendous progress is being made. But there is still so much we're impatient to see done." —Melinda French Gates

In Senegal, 80% of households now have a bed net, helping the number of malaria cases there drop 50% in a single year.